Venetian blind mechanism



Dec. 12, 1950 w. J. STUBER EI'AL 2,534,080

VENETIAN BLIND MECHANISM Filed July s, 1946 s Sheets-Sheet 1 wali gr Sia.

Dec. 12, 1950 w. J. STUBER EI'AL 2,534,080

VENETIAN BLIND MECHANISM Filed July 8, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W 7 6 g/ n 3/ .ajjal'z M 7296 2 11770 v a mar 2:129 s S Dec. 12, 1950 w. J. STUBER ETAL VENETIAN BLIND MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 8, 1946 Patented Dec. 12, 1950 phia, Pa., assignors' to Carey-McFall Company, Philadelphia, Pa"; a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 8,1946, Serial No. 681,826

3 Claims- (Cl. 160-166) This invention relates to Venetian blinds and in the present instance is directed to all-metal blinds, with the exception of the fabric tapes normally provided for suspending the slats of the blind from the tilting mechanism thereof.

.Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a blind having a head casing supportedv by suitable end brackets for enclosing and supporting. the operating mechanism. of the blind, in lieu of the commonplace Wooden head rail and valance;boardusuallyemployed in Venetian blind structures.

Another feature of the invention is directed to a plurality of transverse frames mounted: within the casing and; adapted to support the tilting mechanism and the cord. locking elements of the slat elevating mechanism of the blind, and which, in addition thereto, function to stiffenthe casing.

Another feature of. the: invention resides in the. cord locking mechanism of the blindby'which theslats of the. blind may be maintained at any desired elevation and: subsequently released to change said elevation with. a minimum of effort.

Another" feature: of. the invention resides in the construction of. thecord locking mechanism by which accidental" descent of theslats from anygiven. elevation will be: immediately: arrested in the eventzofi a person: letting goof the. elevating. cords: after having released the" locking meansnism.

- The above-noted features; willbe clearly understood from. the: following: description and. the accompanying: drawings of. which:

Fig. I is-a; frontelevation of. a w-indow'equippecl:v

with a Venetian blind constructed and adapted to operate inxaccordance with the principles ofv the present: invention;

Fig, 2 is: an enlarged longitudinal sectional ele vation of. the head casing, with aportion intermediate the slat supporting tapes broken away;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the head casing. as shownv in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4' is. a transverse sectional elevation taken on. the: line- 4-4, Fig. 2.;

Fig. 5-isa transverse sectional elevation: taken onthe line 5-5-, Fig. 2;

Fig.v 6 is" atransverse sectional elevation taken on the line 6-6,. Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectionalelevation taken: on? the. line. L-l, Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is an oblique sectional elevation. taken on the line 88, Fig. '7';

Fig. 9 isa fragmentary sectional elevation of the: portion removed: from between the tapes in on the line ill-l0, Fig. 9.

As shown in Fig; 1, the Venetian blind of the present invention comprises a head. casing l adapted to be installed in a window frame A immediately below the underside of the top rail a,

between the left side rail al and right side rail all, With no part of the blind projecting into the room in which the window frame A is built beyond the inner faces I), b of the trim pieces bl, b2 lying adjacent the side rails al and 02 respectively of the Window frame.

As will be later disclosed, if the recess between-'- the faces I), b of the trim pieces bl and. M and As shown in Figs; 2. and 3, the left and right;- ends-respectively of the casing I are'supported in hanger" brackets 2 and 3 respectively. These brackets are substantially identical in construction except for the fact that one is made left and the other is made right.

As shown in Fig. 4, for example, the head casing 1 is of a U-shaped cross section and includes a bottom panel 4, a front panel 5, and a back panel 6, said casing being shaped and pressed from a single strip of sheet metal.

The front and back panels 5 and 6 respectively are provided along their upper edges with:

inturned and downwardly extending flanges 1- and 8 which stiffen the upper edges of the case.

ing and provide longitudinal channels 9= and 10' respectively along the upper edges of said panels, for purposeshereinafter described.

The end brackets 2 and 3 each comprises a main body plate ll having right angle flanges l2, l3 and I4 along its bottom, rear, and top edges respectively. Theplate l Lalong its front edge in each instance is provided with a marginal strip I5 which is perpendicularly offset inwardly withirespecttoi the plate H and lies in: a-

plane substantially parallel to the planeof the plate It. The-opposite endsof the casing I rest on and are'supported by the bottom flanges- !2', [2

of the brackets 2 and 3 respectively, with the rear panel: 6' of the casing l inabutting contact with the rear flanges [3,. l3 of said brackets Thetopflanges l4. l4: of said brackets overhang. the open ends ofthe casing I and are providedwith stiffening ribs l6, l6 pressed in the flanges l4, l4.

The casing I, with all the operating echa- Fig. 10-is a transversesectional elevation takenv nism of the blind mounted therein, is adapted to be slipped into the open front ends of the brackets 2 and 3 and to be held therein against accidental creeping by retaining elements l1. These retainers are of right angular cross section and include a front flange I8, which lies in front of the end of the front panel 5 at each end thereof, as clearly shown in Fig. 1; and a side flange H! which abuts against the outer surface of the offset marginal strip l5 of each of the brackets 2 and 3.

The side flange I9 of the retaining element in each instance, is pivoted at 26 adjacent the lower front corner of the offset l5, and the upper end of the front flange l8 of the securing element IT, in each instance, is provided with an inwardly projecting tongue 2| which is adapted to project inwardly over the inturned flange 'l of the casing I and under the forward end 22 of the top flange M of the bracket 2 or 3, as the case may be. The upper end of the element I1 is thereby frictionally held against rotation about the pivot 20.

-In addition thereto, the securing element I1 is further held against rotation about its pivot 28 by means of a small protuberance 23 pressed out of the side flange I9 of said element and projecting into a hole 24 punched in the offset marginal strip l5 of the body plate of the bracket 2 or 3.

The plate II and the back flange |3 of each bracket is provided with holes 25, 25 for the reception of screws 26 by which the end brackets may be mounted on the side rails al and a2, 01' on the faces b, b of the trim pieces bl and b2 of the window frame, as desired.

'The back flange l3 of each bracket is provided with an inturned tongue 21 adapted to project through an aperture 28 or 29 formed in the back panel 6 of the casing l, for centering the casing with respect to the brackets when the spacing of the brackets 2 and 3 varies by reason of the brackets being mounted on the inside surfaces of the side rails al, d2 of the window frames A, 'or on the facesb, b of the trim pieces bl, b2 of the window frame as noted above.

In order to stiffen the front panel 5 of the casing I, said panel is provided with a pair of longitudinally extending corrugations 33, 36 ad jacent the upper and lower edges respectively of the front panel 5.

The bottom rail 3! and the perpendicularly spaced slats 32, 32 of the blind are supported in the usual mannerby a pair of laterally spaced ladder tapes 33, 33. The upper ends of the tapes 33, 33 are attached to drum segments 34, 34 which, in turn, are mounted on a tilt shaft 35 within the casing I. The opposite ends of the tiltshaft 35 are rotatably supported in cross frames 36 and 31 respectively, which extend transversely of the casing I.

The cross frame 36 is formed of a plate 48 having a foot flange 4| resting on and secured to the bottom panel 4 of the head casing The plate 40 is provided with right angle flanges 42, 42 along its vertical opposite side edges, said flanges having lateral extensions 43, 43 projecting horizontally from the upper ends thereof and terminating in vertical lug-like projections or ears 44, 44 extending into the longitudinal channels 9 and I respectively at the upper edges of the front panel and rear panel 6 of the head casing This construction lends rigidity to the front and rear panels 5 and 6 of said head casing.

The plate 40 is bored to receive a pin or trunnion 45 which projects into the hollow center of the rectangular tilt shaft 35. Rockably mounted on the trunnion 45 is a worm wheel segment 46. The worm wheel segment 46 is provided with an axial extension 41 terminating in a right angle arm 48 disposed on a plane parallel to the plane of the gear segment 46 and spaced axially therefrom. The lug 48 is provided with a rectangular opening 49 through which the rectangular tilt shaft 35 extends, to key said shaft to said worm segment for concurrent rocking motion therewith.

The worm wheel segment 46 meshes with the Worm 50 which is fixed to a cross shaft 5|, said cross shaft being rotatably mounted in the flanges 42, 42 of the plate 40 and a pair of intermediate ears 52, 52 pressed out of the plate 40 and providing an open space 53 in which the worm 50 is mounted.

'One end of the cross shaft 5| is provided with a rope sheave 54 about which is trained a tilting cord or rope 55 for rotating the worm 50 in either direction, whereby the slats of the blind may be tilted as desired. The rope 55 hangs through an opening 56 formed in the bottom panel 4 of the head casing The cross frame 31, like the cross frame 36, is provided with a foot flange 51. The cross frame 37 is also provided with vertical side edge flanges 58 and 59 which lie in abutting contact with the front and rear panels 5 and 6 respectively of the head casing l. The flanges 58 and 59 terminate in upwardly projecting lugs or ears 60 and 6| respectively which extend into the channels 9 and HI formed along the upper edges of the panels 5 and 6 respectively and tend to stiflen the head casing Pressed out of the main plate portion 62 of the cross frame 31 is a portion 63 of said plate which is bent at right angles to said plate and then parallel to said plate. The parallel portion 63 is apertured at 64 to form a bearing for the second end of the tilt shaft 35.

Secured to one side of the main plate 62 of the cross frame 31 is a supplementary frame comprising a plate 65 having arms 66 and 61 by which said supplementary plate is attached to the main plate 62, through rivets 68 and 69. The supplementary frame 65 comprises a pair of parallel laterally spaced wall portions 10 and H which extend at right angles to the plane of the plate 62 and support a shaft 13 on which is rotatably mounted a pair of plain faced wheels 14. A pair of parallel elevating cords l5, 15 are trained around the wheels 14 and through an opening I6 formed in the plate 62. The elevating cords 15 then pass under a roller 11 which is rotatably mounted on a fixed shaft 18 carried by a pair of lugs 13 which form apart of supplementary frame 65;

From the guide roller 17, the elevating cords 15 extend longitudinally through the head casing I and pass around guide rollers and 8| from which the ropes I5, 15 drop through openings 82, 82 formed in the bottom panel 4 of the head casing and through transverse slots 83, 83 formed in the slats 32, 32, intermediate the opposite edges of each of the tapes 33, 33, the lower ends of the elevating cords l5, 15 being attached to the bottom rail 3| of the blind in the usual manner.

Within the supplementary frame 65, between the parallel wall portions [0 and H thereof, the cords 1-5, 15 are maintained inseparated side; by-side relation to each other by a separating plate; which lies intermediate the rop'e'guide wheels I4, T4. The separating or dividing plate N ls-held in position by the shaft "and is prevented from rotating about said shaft by a transversely extending pin 86 which is anchored at its opposite ends in the parallel wall portions!!! and I I of the supplementary frame 65.

Pivotally mounted on the opposite ends of the pin 86, adjacent the walls It and II respectively, are-side arms 81, 81 of'a U-shaped lever 88, said si'de'arms being connected by a transversely extending portion'89 of the lever 83. Mounted in the lever 88, between the side arms 81, 81, is a cord locking latch 90 having trunnions 9|, 9i which-are rotatably mounted in said side arms 8T, 31- adjacent the cross bar 89 f said lever. The latch 90 is provided with a convex serrated surface 92 which is adapted to engage the ele-' which extend downwardly from the wheels I4, I4

are pulled downwardly, as indicated by the arrow d in Fig. 2, which raises the bottom rail 3I and the superposed slats 32, 32 successively. When the desired elevation of the bottom rail and slats has been attained, the cords I5, 15 are swung to the'right, as-indicated by the arrow 6 in Fig. 8. By this action, the cords I5, 15 press upon the toes-93, 93 of the latch 90 swinging said latch about its trunnions 9-I and throwing the convex serrated surface 92 into contact with the ropes 15;"!5. Then, by slightly retracting the pull on the cords I5, I5, while maintaining the serrated surface- 92 of the latch 99 in contact with said cords, the cords tend to lift the latch 95 and, in so doing, swing the lever 88 about its pivot 85, by reason of the pivot 86 of the lever 88 being eccentrio with respect to the shaft I3 about which the rope wheels I4 rotate. The upper inner edge 95 of the cross bar 89 of the lever 88 is caused to bear against the concave face 92a of the latch 90 and force the serrated convex surface 92 of said latch into tighter gripping contact with the rope I whil pressing said ropes tightly against the peripheral surfaces of the rope wheels I4, thus retaining the slats at the desired elevation.

If for any reason the depending portions of the ropes I5, I5 should be totally released, accidentally or otherwise, as a person is operating said depending portions of said ropes to elevate the slats, such release, due to the weight of the slats, would cause the depending portions of the ropes 15, I5 to move upwardly. The frictional contact of the toes 93 and the serrated convex surface 92 of the latch 90 against the ropes I5 would automatically swing the lever 88 upwardly and jam the latch 90 into locking contact with the cords I5, thereby preventing the slats from dropping to the full extent of the supporting tapes 33, which frequently is responsible for damage to the slats and the operating mechanisms of a Venetian blind.

The locking latch 99 is released by merely pulling downwardly on the depending portion of the elevating cords I5, which effects reverse rocking of the lever 88 and a complete releasing of the'latch 9I| fromsaid cords. Then; by swinging said cordsin the direction opposite to that designated by the arrow e in Fig. 8,.said cords may be operated to either raise or lower the 'slats,.as

desired, after which the swinging of the cords in,

the direction of the arrow e' will again effect locking of the slats in the position to which they.

have been elevated.

The tape drum segments 34 consist of of axially spaced end plates 96, 96 integrally connected by a longitudinal fiat top. plate 91, to the opposite longitudinal edges of which are .connected resilient arcuate side plates 93, 98. The top plate 9'! is provided with longitudinally. extending laterally spaced fingers '99, '99 which are adapted to extend into hems I00, I formed at the upper ends of the tape 33, 33, a gap IOI being.

provided intermediate the ends of the inwardly projecting fingers 99, 99 to afford attachment.

of the hems I90 to said fingers.

The resilient side plates 98, 98am provided to yield and relieve strain on th tapes 33, 33 when the slats are tilted to a maximum extent in either direction and'to permit the tapes 33, 33

' to assume a closely adjacent relationship when rectangular shaft 35 and maintain the drum seg ments 34 in any position to which they may be slidably adjusted axially of the shaft 35.

As previously noted, the cross frames 35 and 9? tend to stiffen the head casing I. In blinds of narrow widths, the frames 35 and 3I'sufiice to maintain the front and back panels 5 and 5 of the casing I each other. In blinds of the wider variety, it is preferable to employ an intermediat stiffening cross frame, as indicated in Figs. 9 and 10. As shown in Fig. 10, this intermediate cross frame comprises a body plate I55 having a foot flange I89 adapted to rest on and be secured to the bot tom panel 4 of the head casing I. The plate I05 is provided with vertical edge flanges I91 and I98 which terminate at their upper ends in lugs or ears I99 and H9 which are adapted to fit within the channels 9 and II! respectively at the upper edges of the front and back panels 5 and 6 of the head casing I. The upper edge of the plate I is centrally apertured at III and provided with a flange II2 affording a bearing to receive and rotatably support the central portion of the tilt shaft 35, intermediate the drum segments 34, 34. The plate I85 is also apertured at II3 below the aperture I II to afford free passage for one of the elevating cords I5.

Obviously, additional stiffening cross frames of this same general character may be provided at desired intervals throughout the length of the head casing I to provide any degree of rigidity in the head casing I which may be deemed necessary or advisable.

The back flanges I3 of the end brackets 2 and 3, as previously noted, are provided with openings 25 for receiving screws or nails by which said brackets may be fastened to the face of the window trim under certain circumstances and the opposite ends of the back panel 6 of the head casing I is provided with longitudinally elongated a: pair 2 in substantially rigid parallel relation to slots H extending" inwardly from the end edges of said panel to afford clearance around the openings 25 for the heads of the attachment screws passing through the openings 25, to provide for any relative adjustment that may be made between the end brackets 2 and 3 and the adjacent ends of the head casing l.

The guide pulleys 80 and Bi are mounted in carriers I I5, I [6 which are secured to the bottom panel 4 of the head casing l, by rivets H1, H1 which are remote to the guide rollers 39 and El respectively. While the rivets ill firmly maintain the carriers H6, H6 in place, they also afford a slight axial adjustment of the rollers 86 and El to provide for accurate alignment of the ropes 15, '15 in passing through the slots 82, 82 in the bottom panel i to prevent chafiing of the ropes against the edges of the openings 82, 82 if proper alignment between the ropes 75 and slots or openings is not effected.

When a complete blind is being packed for shipping, a bow spring I29 is placed in the head casing I, intermediate the tape drum segments 34, 34, with upwardly bent ends I21, 12! of the spring hooked under the top flanges 7 and 8 of the front and rear panels 5 and 6 respectively, and with the center I22 of the spring bearing on the upper side of the rectangular tilt shaft 35, to retain the shaft against vertical displacement from its supporting bearing in the cross frame 37 in transit. This spring is removed and discarded when the blind is being hung for use.

We claim:

1. A head casing structure for Venetian blinds; comprising a member including integral bottom, front and back panels; longitudinal channels formed at the upper edges of said front and back panels respectively, a cross-frame for supporting one end of a tilt rod extending transversely in said member and comprising a plate, and lateral 1 extensions on said plate being provided with upstanding projections at opposite sides of the plate engaged within the longitudinal channels at the upper side edges of the front and back panels.

2. A head casing structure for Venetian blinds; comprising a member including integral bottom, front and back panels; longitudinal channels formed at the upper edges of said front and back panels respectively, a cross-frame for supporting one end of a tilt rod extending transversely in said member and comprising a plate, a foot flange on said plate secured to the bottom panel of the member, and lateral extensions on said plate being provided with upstanding projections at opposite sides of the plate engaged within the longitudinal channels at the upper side edges of they front and back panels.

3. A head casing structure for Venetian blinds; comprising a member including integral bottom, front and back panels; formed at the upper edges of said front and back panels respectively, a cross-frame for supporting one end of a tilt rod extending transversely in said member and comprising a plate, a foot flange on said plate secured to the bottom panel of the member, and side flanges on said plate having lateral extensions provided with upstanding projections at opposite sides of the plate engaged within the longitudinal channels at the upperside edges of the front and back panels.

WALTER J. STUBER. JOHN J. DI IENNO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,957,272 Kuyper May 1, 1934 2,135,795 Burns Nov. 8, 1938 2,141,502 Ajovelo Dec. 27, 1938 2,155,945 Lewis Apr. 25, 1939 2,172,657 Haase Sept. 12, 1939 2,220,796 Stuber Nov. 5, 1940 2,334,132 Sherwood Nov. 9, 1943 2, l55,135 Nelson Nov. 30, 1948 2,465,246 Mackin Mar. 22, 1949 longitudinal channels a 

